Monthly Archives: September 2020

Uniform at school, the eternal debate?

Uniform at school, the eternal debate?

Under the hashtags #balancetonbahut and # 14septembre, middle school and high school girls have been claiming since the start of the school year the right to dress as they wish, pointing to the sexism of schools that are more strict with regard to the outfits worn by girls than by those of boys. Questioned on this subject […] … learn more→

Stop telling students to study STEM instead of humanities for the post-coronavirus world

Stop telling students to study STEM instead of humanities for the post-coronavirus world

Finally, someone has figured out how to put an end to students wasting their lives in the quixotic pursuit of knowledge associated with the humanities. The government of Australia announced in June a reform package that would lower fees for what are considered “job-relevant” university courses while raising the cost of some humanities courses. Under the proposed […] … learn more→

Stressful times are an opportunity to teach children resilience

Stressful times are an opportunity to teach children resilience

Between the global COVID-19 pandemic, the associated economic downturn and widespread protests over racism, it’s difficult for everyone. Many people are struggling, consumed with anxiety and stress, finding ourselves unable to sleep or focus. As a developmental psychologist and researcher on anxiety and fear in infants and young children, I have been particularly concerned about the impact of the […] … learn more→

How universities can ensure students still have a good experience, despite coronavirus

How universities can ensure students still have a good experience, despite coronavirus

As UK university students begin an academic year, they are experiencing a totally different way of life. Some have already found themselves in lockdown in their residences and are afraid they will not be getting some of the usual benefits of university education. Universities have a duty of care for students’ health and well-being, and a responsibility […] … learn more→

#litreview. Defining – It’s your ‘take’

#litreview. Defining – It’s your ‘take’

Most of us work in occupied research territories. Other researchers have been around at least some of the things that we are concerned with. Their work offers particular interpretations and perhaps ‘evidence’ that may – or may not – be useful to us as we work out what we are going to do. Other people’s […] … learn more→

Must every student really become an entrepreneur?

Must every student really become an entrepreneur?

In the Flawn Academic Center of the University of Texas at Austin is a spacious room that is not devoted to academic activity. It houses Blackstone Launchpad, which promotes itself as “a program that helps students of all backgrounds navigate the UT entrepreneurship ecosystem”, a pretentious way of saying “create a business”. “Why do we […] … learn more→

How COVID-19 is changing the English language

How COVID-19 is changing the English language

In April, the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary did something unusual. For the previous 20 years, they had issued quarterly updates to announce new words and meanings selected for inclusion. These updates have typically been made available in March, June, September and December. In the late spring, however, and again in July, the dictionary’s editors released special […] … learn more→